Method and apparatus for making a bag with a sealed pouring spout

ABSTRACT

A bag made of flexible material having a sealed pouring spout is disclosed, as well as a method and apparatus for making such a bag. The bag has closure flaps adapted to be folded in overlapping relation and secured together to seal an end of the bag. The closure flaps are typically triangular in shape and composed of a plurality of sheets of material which may be separated to provide a pouring spout. One of the closure flaps is severed to provide an open end for the pouring spout through which the contents of the bag are dispensed. A sealing tape is secured to the open spout end to close it and seal the bag. The sealing tape includes a tear string to aid in tear the tape to open the spout.

[11.1 3,845,695 1 Nov. 5, 1974 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A BAG WITH A SEALED POURING SPOUT [75] Inventor: Anthony .1. Ranulazzo, Chalmette,

[73] Assignee: Amstar Corporation, New York,

22 Filed: Aug. 21, 1973 21 Appl.N0.:390,192

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 185,680, Oct. 1, 1971,

abandoned.

[52] 11.8. C1 93/1 TS, 93/8 VB, 93/27, 93/35 R [51] llnt. Cl 8311) 1/90 [58] Field of Search... 93/8 VB, 1 TS, 36 DA, 35 R, 93/8 R, 21, 26, 27; 229/66, 62, 17 R, 7 R

l l l l 3,215,335 11/1965 Turpin 229/66 3,266,965 8/1966 Spees 93/1 TS X 3,322,600 5/1967 Harrison et all 93/1 TS X Primary Examiner--Roy Lake Assistant Examiner.lames F. Coan Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Cooper, Dunham, Clark, Griffin, Moran [57] ABSTRACT A bag made of flexible material having a sealed pouring spout is disclosed, as well as a method and apparatus for making such a bag. The bag has closure flaps adapted to be folded in overlapping relation and secured together to seal an end of the bag. The closure flaps are typically triangular in shape and composed of a plurality of sheets of material which may be separated to provide a pouring spout. One of the closure flaps is severed to provide an open end for the pouring spout through which the contents of the bag are dispensed. A sealing tape is secured to the open spout end to close it and seal the bag. The sealing tape includes a tear string to aid in tear the tape to open the spout.

12 Claims, 19 Drawing Figures 5m 7/0/1/ 57/17/011 574 MA!- METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A BAG WITH A SEALED PGIJRING SPOUT This is a division, of application Ser. No. 185,680, filed Oct. 1, 1971, and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to flexible bags as well as to methods and apparatus for making such bags. The invention is particulary directed to provide a bag for holding a flowable product, for example sugar, with a pouring spout to aid in the dispensing of the product.

Flexible bags for holding a product are normally sealed through the use of so-called delta seals," i.e., each bag has closure flaps triangular in shape which are adapted to be folded in overlapping relation and secured together to seal an end of the bag. It has been proposed in the past to perforate one of the closure flaps so that it may be easily torn to provide a pouring spout through which the contents of the bag may be dispensed. (See Geimer US. Pat. No. 1,833,675, issued Nov. 24, 1931 and Swiss Pat. No. 345,585 (1960).) These two patents essentially disclose an arrangement by which the user may form a pouring spout by appropriate tearing of a bag. In the present invention, in distinction, the pouring spout is completely formed during the packaging of the product within the bag. The pouring spout is then sealed during the packaging operation, with provision being made for tearing of the seal by the user to open the spout in order to dispense the contents of the bag.

The present invention advantageously utilizes a folded sealing tape along with a tear string to aid in the tearing of the tape to open the spout. While such tapes are old in the art (see US. Patents to: Fisher, No. 2,868,435 issued Jan. 13, 1959; Monahan et al., No. 3,047,206 issued July 31, 1962; Bok, No. 3,439,468 issued Apr. 22, 1969), it has not been suggested to precut one of the delta seal closure flaps in a flexible bag to form a pouring spout and to seal that pouring spout with provision for easy tearing of the seal as in the present invention.

The present invention is accordingly, directed to pro viding a flexible bag having a preformed and sealed pouring spout, with provision for easy tearing of the seal to open the spout and particularly to a method and apparatus for making such a bag.

I The invention will be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of representative embodiments thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a prospective view of a flexible bag made in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 2-4 are prospective views (to a slightly en FIG. 7 is a schematic view of representative apparatus embodying the invention and for producing a sealed bag as shown in FIG. 1. The apparatus of FIG. 7 may be considered as including nine stations. In FIG. 7 there is a view of a flexible bag opposite each station showing the operation performed by the apparatus of that station;

FIGS. 8-16 are detailed views respectively showing the operations performed in stations I through 9 of the apparatus of FIG. 7;

FIG. 17 is a view of part of a flexible bag as the bag emerges from the final station of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a schematic representation of apparatus for joining a tear string to a sealing tape and which is useful with apparatus as shown in. FIG. 7;

FIG. 19 is a schematic representation of apparatus for supplying a sealing tape, that already includes a tear string secured thereto, to the apparatus of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1, a bag 30 is shown made in accordance with the invention. The bag is made of flexible material, for example, paper. The bag is closed at its top end by conventional delta seals 32 and 34, which constitute closure flaps. As shown in FIG. 1, the closure flaps are folded in overlapping relation and are secured together; the closure flea. .32....9xerli9sthc srelhs .s qs refla .314 is conventional and is generally triangular in shape. The closure flap 32, while otherwise conventional, s m fis tef ma e ssrinss o hebas As may be noted from FIG. I, the closure flap 32 has had its apex portion severed therefrom, and the closure flap is closed off and sealed by a sealing tape 36. To open the bag, the closure flap 32 is raised to the position shown in FIG. 2. Next, one end or tab 36a of the sealing tape 36, provided by a preformed slit 38 in the sealing tape, is grasped and pulled upwardly as shown in FIG. 3 to tear the sealing tape 36. It will be noted in FIG. 3 that the sealing tape 36 includes a tear string 40 that serves to tear the sealing tape. After the sealing tape has been tom, the closure flap 32 is opened as shown in FIG. 4 to provide a pouring spout through which the contents of the bag may be dispensed. As will be noted from FIG. 4, the closure flap 32 is composed of a plurality of sheets of material, i.e., sheets 32a and 32b, which may be separated to provide the pouring spout which communicates with the interior of the bag.

With reference to FIG. 5, it will be noted that the closure flap 32 is sealed by the sealing tape 36 which is folded over the end of the closure flap that defines the open end of the pouring spout. The tear string is secured inside this folded-over sealing tape. The sealing tape and tear string 40 are shown in FIG. 6, along with the slits 38 in the sealing tape which aid in the tearing of the tape as described above. The sealing tape may be made of any convenient material such as paper, for example, and is typically coated with a sealable coating, for example, with polyethylene or a hot-melt adhesive. In the making of the bag with the sealing tape 36 and tear string 40, it will be noted that the sealing tape 36 has at least one end (the end including the tab 36a) that extends beyond the closure flap 32. The slits 38 in the sealing tape which form the tab 36a are thus adjacent to but outside the closure flap 32. By positioning the 3 slits 38 outside the closure flap, no tearing of the closure flap itself takes place when the tear string 40 is pulled to tear open the sealing tape 36 to open the pouring spout.

The making of a bag such as shown in FIG. 1 may be achieved through the use of representative apparatus shown schematically in FIG. 7. That apparatus includes nine stations which are identified in FIG. 7 by views of the bag in the various stations. Station 1 represents that part of a packaging operation in which a flexible bag is already filled with a product. In station 1 a first one of the completely-sealed closure flaps (closure flap 34 in FIG. 1) is already sealed to the end of the bag and the second one of the completely-sealed closure flaps (closure flap 32 in FIG. 1) extends away from the bag. As shown in the view of the bag in station 1 in FIG. 7, the completely-sealed closure flap 32 is in its normal triangular shape as it comes from a conventional delta seal machine in position normally to have adhesive applied to that flap and the flap folded over in overlapping relation against the other closure flap 34. In this case, however, a conventional delta seal machine is modified to include apparatus such as shown in FIG. 7 to provide a cutting of the flap to form a pouring spout and a sealing of that pouring spout.

To elaborate, in station 1 shown in FIG. 7 the bag 30 is in position (upsidedown) filled with. product and with the completely-sealed closure flap 32 extending outwardly. See FIG. 8 for a detailed showing of the bag in station 1.

In station 2, the apex portion 32c of the closure flap 32 is severed, for example, by use of cutting blades 42 and 44. The cutting blades and the bag are shown in detail in FIG. 9. The distance of the cut from the bag 30, designated d in FIG. 9, determines the size of the pouring spout that is formed by the cutting operation. The smaller the distance d, the wider the opening of the pouring spout.

Following the cutting operation in station 2, the bag is conveyed through station 3. In station 3 the sealing tape 36 and tear string 40 are guided, as shown schematically by rollers or guides 46 and 48 in FIG. 7, into a guide 50. As shown in FIG. the guide 50 causes a folding of the sealing tape 36 over the open end of the pouring spout constituted by the severed closure flap 32, with the tear string 40 inside the folded sealing tape.

The bag moves from station 3 to station 4, as shown in FIG. 7. Station 4 includes a pair of rollers 52 and 54 (see also FIG. 11) which serve to pull the tape 36 and tear string 40 through the guide 50, and also ensure that the tape and tear string move along with the moving bag as it passes through station 4 into stations 5 and 6. The rollers 52 and 54 also serve to complete the folding of the sealing tape 36 about the closure flap 32. It should be noted that the rollers 52 and 54 may be movable vertically (as shown in dotted line in FIG. 11) so as to intermittently grip the tape and tear string. Since the bags are typically conveyed in a continuous movement through the stations, the intermittent tape and tear string movement is synchronized with the bag movement. During the times that the rollers 52 and 54 are in a separated, non-tape gripping position, a flap 32 of a bag is free to move within the folded sealing tape in station 4.

Station 4 may include limit switches or photo cells (not shown) sensitive to the position of a bag 30 and which serve to measure the required length of sealing tape and tear string for the package. In station 5 the tape and tear string are cut. Station 5 includes two cutters, S6 and 58, shown also in FIG. 12. The cutters are actuated by a solenoid or other conventional actuating mechanism 60. As shown in FIG. 12, the cutter 56 severs the sealing tape 36 and the tear string 40 (at the trailing edge of the flap 32 of one bag), whereas the cutter 58 simply cuts or slits a part of the sealing tape 36 in order to form the pull tab 36a (which is associated with the leading edge of the flap 32 of the next bag in the assembly line). It should be noted with respect to FIG. 7 that a bag and sealing tape and tear string are in station 6 prior to the cutting of the sealing tape and tear string, as just noted in station 5.

In station 6 the bag with the cut sealing tape and tear string is operated upon by a moving heat transfer track arrangement 62 or band sealers or heat-sealing bars of conventional type. Controlled heat is applied by the moving heat transfer track to seal the tape 36 to the closure flap 32 of the bag. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 13, the moving heat transfer track includes an upper heater 62a and a lower heater 62b which, while applying heat to complete the sealing of the tape, also press the tape firmly against the closure flap.

The bag moves to station 7 where rollers 64 and 66 (FIGS. 7 and 14) press firmly against the sealing tape 36 to provide a final seal of the closure flap 32.

In station 8, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 15, glue or other suitable adhesive is applied to the underside of closure flap 32 by a glue or adhesive applicator 68, which may be a spray head or glue rollers, for example.

In station 9, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 16, the closure flap 32 is guided by a guide 70 or other mechanicallyoperated folding device so that it is moved in overlapping relation to the closure flap 34 that is already sealed to the bag 30. From station 9 the bag is typically conveyed to a compression unit (not shown) which is conventional and which presses the closure flap 32 against the closure flap 34 in order to complete the package. The overlapping relationship of closure flap 32 to closure flap 34 in the completed package is shown in FIG. 17.

In connection with the supplying of sealing tape 36 and tear string 40 for use in the apparatus of FIG. 7, it will be noted that station 3 is shown as receiving sealing tape with tear string affixed thereto. If the tear string and sealing tape are supplied separately, apparatus such as shown in FIG. 18 may be employed. In this case tear string 40 is supplied from a spool 72, while sealing tape 36 is supplied from a roll 74. The string and sealing tape, properly oriented with respect to each other, are drawn through a heat bar arrangement 76 and pressure roll arrangement 78 where the string is sealed to the tape. The string and tape are then conveyed to the guide 50 which folds the sealing tape with tear string about the open closure flap in station 3, as described above.

If sealing tape with tear string already attached is available in a roll such as 80 shown in FIG. 19, then the combination of sealing tape and tear string are conveyed directly from such a roll to the guide 50 that is part of station 3 in the apparatus of FIG. 7.

In summary, the invention contemplates the packaging of a material such as sugar in a conventional fashion with the completion of all steps in the packaging process except the final glue application and sealing of the overlying closure flap in the end of the package. This closure flap is then severed to provide a pouring spout which is sealed by a sealing tape and tear string. it should be noted that it is possible to provide a package blank which is precut, thereby obviating the necessity of cutting the closure flap in the package as formed to provide the pouring spout. However, in the packaging of many flowable materials, such as sugar, the folding of the blank to complete a package may vary slightly from one package to another, so that such folding is not about lines that are exactly the same in all blanks. Accordingly, for the packaging of such products, it is believed preferable to form the package with the triangular-shaped final closure flap 32 and to sever that flap just prior to the final sealing operation, rather than to provide a precut blank which is then folded to provide a final closure flap that already contains a pouring spout by virtue of the precutting of the blank.

Representative embodiments of the invention have been described above, in terms of a method and apparatus for producing the bag. Qonyentional packaging materials may be employed, for example, paper for the bag and sealing tape, polyethylene for the adhesive to seal the tape, and rayon for the tear string. Conventional packing apparatus of different types may be employed to provide a bag suitable for cutting and sealing.

The invention accordingly should be taken to be defined by the following claims, and is not limited solely to the specific embodiments disclosed.

I claim:

1. in a method of making a bag of flexible material, including the steps of forming closure flaps at an end of the bag to be subsequently folded in overlapping relation and secured together to seal said bag end, the overlapping one of the closure flaps being generally triangular in shape and composed of a plurality of sheets of material, the improvement comprising severing said overlapping closure flap near the apex thereof to provide a pouring spout upon the separating of said sheets of material, said pouring spout communicating with the interior of the bag and having an outer open end formed by said severing through which the contents of the bag may be dispensed, securing a sealing tape to said pouring spout to close off and seal said open spout end, and folding said closure flaps in overlapping rela tion and securing them together to seal said bag end.

2. in a method of closing a bag of flexible material including the steps of forming a completely-sealed closure flap at an end of the bag, said completely-sealed closure flap being composed of a plurality of sheets of material which may be separated, the improvement comprising severing a part of said completely-sealed closure flap to provide a pouring spout communicating with the interior of the bag and having an open end through which the contents of the bag may be dispensed, and securing a sealing tape to said pouring spout to close off and seal said open spout end.

3. A method according to claim 2 in which the sealing tape is secured to said pouring spout by folding said sealing tape over said open spout end.

4. A method according to claim 3 including providing a tear string inside said folded sealing tape.

5. A method according to claim d including supplying said sealing tape and tear string from a continuous source, periodically severing said sealing tape and tear string to provide individual closures for a succession of bags of flexible material, said severing of the sealing tape and tear string being outside the closure flap of each bag so as to provide an extending end of said sealing tape and tear string beyond that closure flap, and slitting said extending sealing tape end adjacent to but utside said closure flap of each bag to provide a tab which may be grasped to facilitate the tearing of said sealing tape in the opening of said bag.

6. A method according to claim 5 including adhesively securing the tape-sealed closure flap of each flexible bag to said bag.

7. in apparatus for making a bag of flexible material, including means for forming closure flaps at an end of the bag to be subsequently folded in overlapping relation and secured together to seal said bag end, the overlapping one of the closure flaps being generally triangu lar in shape and composed of a plurality of sheets of material, the improvement comprising means for severing said overlapping closure flap near the apex thereof to provide a pouring spout upon the separating of said sheets of material, said pouring spout communicating with the interior of the bag and having an uter open end formed by said severing through which the contents of the bag may be dispensed, means for securing a sealing tape to said pouring spout to close off and seal said open spoutn end, and means for folding said closure flaps in overlapping relation and securing them together to seal said bag end.

8. ln apparatus for closing a bag of flexible material including means for forming a completely-sealed closure flap at an end of the bag, said closure flap being composed of a plurality of sheets of material which may be separated, the improvement comprising means for severing a part of said completely-sealed closure flap to provide a pouring spout communicating with the interior of the bag and having an open end through which the contents of the bag may be dispensed, and means for securing a sealing tape to said pouring spout to close off and seal said open spout end.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 in which said securing means secures the sealing tape to said pouring spout by folding said sealing tape over said open spout end.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 in which said securing means provides a tear string inside said folded sealing tape.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 including means or continuously supplying sealing tape and tear string, means for periodically severing said sealing tape and tear string to provide individual closures for a succession of bags of flexible material, said periodic severing means severing the sealing tape and tear string outside the closure flap of each bag so as to provide an extending end of said sealing tape and tear string beyond that closure flap, and means for slitting said extending sealing tape end adjacent to but outside said closure flap to provide a tab which may be grasped to facilitate the tearing of said sealing tape in the opening of said bag.

12. Apparatus according to claim lll including means for adhesively securing the tape-sealed closure flap of 

1. In a method of making a bag of flexible material, including the steps of forming closure flaps at an end of the bag to be subsequently folded in overlapping relation and secured together to seal said bag end, the overlapping one of the closure flaps being generally triangular in shape and composed of a plurality of sheets of material, the improvement comprising severing said overlapping closure flap near the apex thereof to provide a pouring spout upon the separating of said sheets of material, said pouring spout communicating with the interior of the bag and having an outer open end formed by said severing through which the contents of the bag may be dispensed, securing a sealing tape to said pouring spout to close off and seal said open spout end, and folding said closure flaps in overlapping relation and securing them together to seal said bag end.
 2. In a method of closing a bag of flexible material including the steps of forming a completely-sealed closure flap at an end of the bag, said completely-sealed closure flap being composed of a plurality of sheets of material which may be separated, the improvement comprising severing a part of said completely-sealed closure flap to provide a pouring spout communicating with the interior of the bag and having an open end through which the contents of the bag may be dispensed, and securing a sealing tape to said pouring spout to close off and seal said open spout end.
 3. A method according to claim 2 in which the sealing tape is secured to said pouring spout by folding said sealing tape over said open spout end.
 4. A method according to claim 3 including providing a tear string inside said folded sealing tape.
 5. A method according to claim 4 including supplying said sealing tape and tear string from a continuous source, periodically severing said sealing tape and tear string to provide individual closures for a succession of bags of flexible material, said severing of the sealing tape and tear string being outside the closure flap of each bag so as to provide an extending end of said sealing tape and tear string beyond that closure flap, and slitting said extending sealing tape end adjacent to but utside said closure flap of each bag to provide a tab which may be grasped to facilitate the tearing of said sealing tape in the opening of said bag.
 6. A method according to claim 5 including adhesively securing the tape-sealed closure flap of each flexible bag to said bag.
 7. In apparatus for making a bag of flexible material, including means for forming closure flaps at an end of the bag to be subsequently folded in overlapping relation and secured together to seal said bag end, the overlapping one of the closure flaps being generally triangular in shape and composed of a plurality of sheets of material, the improvement comprising means for severing said overlapping closure flap near the apex thereof to provide a pouring spout upon the separating of said sheets of material, said pouring spout communicating with the interior of the bag and having an uter open end formed by said severing through which the contents of the bag may be dispensed, means for securing a sealing tape to said pouring spout to close off and seal said open spoutn end, and means for folding said closure flaps in overlapping relation and securing them together to seal said bag end.
 8. In apparatus For closing a bag of flexible material including means for forming a completely-sealed closure flap at an end of the bag, said closure flap being composed of a plurality of sheets of material which may be separated, the improvement comprising means for severing a part of said completely-sealed closure flap to provide a pouring spout communicating with the interior of the bag and having an open end through which the contents of the bag may be dispensed, and means for securing a sealing tape to said pouring spout to close off and seal said open spout end.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 8 in which said securing means secures the sealing tape to said pouring spout by folding said sealing tape over said open spout end.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 9 in which said securing means provides a tear string inside said folded sealing tape.
 11. Apparatus according to claim 10 including means or continuously supplying sealing tape and tear string, means for periodically severing said sealing tape and tear string to provide individual closures for a succession of bags of flexible material, said periodic severing means severing the sealing tape and tear string outside the closure flap of each bag so as to provide an extending end of said sealing tape and tear string beyond that closure flap, and means for slitting said extending sealing tape end adjacent to but outside said closure flap to provide a tab which may be grasped to facilitate the tearing of said sealing tape in the opening of said bag.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 11 including means for adhesively securing the tape-sealed closure flap of each flexible bag to said bag. 